You're Never Alone
by The Cashmere Nerd
Summary: 'Emily's phone buzzes with a text of her own. He raises an eyebrow but drops it. After all, they are two strangers in a city of thousands.' Emily's story after she leaves Boulder. NOTE; takes place after episode Requiem for a Dream.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: _**_Hey! I'm back, and I'm writing (for now and until my inspiration dies.) I figured since I'm not a fan of Austin and Emily, I may as well write my own Damon/Emily story. So here goes. _

_Note: I know this was short. But it's not horribly short, is it? _

_(Main) Inspiration for this story/chapter:  
>-Ocean Wide; The Afters (of course ;))<em>

_-Beautiful Disaster; Jon McLaughlin_

_-Breath Me; Sia_

_-Coming to Terms; Carolina Liar_

* * *

><p>Emily rests her head against the window, breathing shallowly, like she was about to have a panic attack. How could Damon kiss Kaylie? He must've known Emily still had feelings for him. God, the whole situation was stupid.<p>

The song 'Ocean Wide' pops up on her shuffle and Emily suppresses the tears that come too fast to her eyes. This was the song Damon would croon in her phone to say goodnight and always made her smile like she was in love… Which, technically, she was.

Everything had come on really fast, and she wasn't expecting any of it. She had a lot on her shoulders right now, and she needed to let it out. So Emily made a deal with herself to cry for the remainder of the four minute, thirty second song and then be done. She could cry more when she got to Rita's. The tears rolled down her cheeks, but as soon as the last note sounded, the brunette wiped her tears and started thinking of positive things, like her mom. Her brother. Rita, who was a lot like Momma Kmetko. Payson. Hell, even Lauren. Razor. Music. Her inner book nerd. Gymnastics. Sasha. Her vault that got her onto the Worlds team. But no, thinking of Worlds wouldn't help, seeing as she wouldn't be going to Rio anyways.

_ Way to get your hopes up, Em,_ The girl scolds herself and changes her shuffle to a calmer playlist, in hopes that the soothing (and boring) music would calm her to sleep.

345

When Emily woke up, she had a pain in her neck and eight missed text messages. There were only three or so more hours until Vegas, according to the talkative blond next to her. Emily smiles in thanks and massages her neck with one hand, checking her texts with the other. Three from Damon, two from her mom, and one each from Lauren, Payson, and Kaylie.

She starts with her mom's and quickly scrolled through the texts that basically says that she missed Emily.

Next up were her friends. Same thing with Pay and Lo, but Kaylie was apologizing profusely.

And last, but _oh_, not the least, Damon's.

_**From: Damon**_

_Fly me to the moon, fly me to the moon_

_Let me play among those stars, let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars_

_In other words, hold my hand, in other words baby kiss me_

_Fill my heart with song and let me sing forever more,_

_You are all I long for, all I worship and adore_

_In other words, please be true, in other words, I love you._

_**From: Damon**_

_So many of us fear tomorrow or regret yesterday, but I won't fear tomorrow if I get to be with you, and I don't regret yesterday 'cause one yesterday I met you._

_**From: Damon**_

_Some of us think holding on make us strong;_

_But sometimes it is letting go._

_And I can't let go of you, Miss Kmetko- where are you? I miss you, please respond._

Emily snaps her phone shut angrily, but hesitantly opens it again to respond to her mom, Payson and Lauren. She ignores the last two people and starts humming in a desperate attempt to drown out her thoughts.

Of course, it didn't work, and the talkative blond next to her starts shooting her dirty looks. Emily grimaces back at her and stared out the window for the rest of the ride.

345

The doors of the bus opens, startling Emily awake. She quickly stands up and grabs her dingy blue duffel bag, walking hurriedly off the bus. She whistles for a taxi and finds one about five minutes later. Getting in, the brunette tell the driver where to go, and looks around the car. She's surprised when she sees another figure on the seat to her left, and shoots a quizzical look at him.

"The taxi driver gave me a ride, and I convinced him to give me one too. You looked pretty desperate." He explains. He has black hair with bright green and orange stripes in it.

"Gee, thanks," Emily said sarcastically, but sticks out her hand in greeting. "I'm Emily."

"Scott. Nice to meet you, Emily," He shakes her callused hand firmly. "So where are you from?"

The girl shoots Scott a look, raising an eyebrow. "I've known you for two minutes. I am most certainly not sharing where I am from with you, Scottie dear."

Scott appraises her and his eyes land firmly on her stomach, noticing the tiniest curvature there. "Auditioning for Sixteen and Pregnant?" He asks sarcastically.

Emily glares darkly at him. "For your information, I'm seventeen, thank you very much. And no, I'm not looking for attention. Besides, how do you know if I'm pregnant or not?"

He chuckles and winks. "I have sharp eyes. Okay, since you don't want to share your background, how about I share mine?

"I'm seventeen as well, and I come from-"

"If you honestly want my opinion, _Scott, _I'm in no mood to hear a stranger's life story. Okay? Thank you." Emily snaps at him, in true Lauren fashion.

"Okay," The other teen laughs again. "Go back to your book or whatever else you do. Just know that I am offering a shoulder to cry on, a friend, and I bet you don't know anyone else here. Huh, airport girl? Where are you running to? Who are you running from?"

A tear falls out of Emily's eye. "Everyone." She whispers hoarsely. The brunette doubted she'd cried this much in her entire life as she had in the past few days, but she was pregnant, and allowed to be hormonal. Right?

Scott reaches over and tentatively puts an arm around Emily's shoulder."Shh. It's going to be okay." He murmurs, and Emily looks up at him.

"You really think so? I mean, I ran away from everyone I knew and loved, my ex-boyfriend kissed one of my best friends, and the only person I know in Vegas is you and my godmother." She sits tense under his arm but allows it anyways.

"_I _think, that you will be fine. You seem pretty strong if you came all the way to Las Vegas knowing really no one here. Besides, you've got me!"

Emily giggles half-heartedly at his attempt at teasing. All of a sudden, Scott's phone rings, and his happy face turns guarded.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" The brunette asks, confused.

"No," Scott said, lips thin.

She was worried about him, for sure, but she let the subject go because her own phone buzzes with a text- Damon again. Scott raises an eyebrow but dropped it.

They didn't speak the rest of the ride.

After all, they were just two strangers in a city of thousands.

* * *

><p><em>Review? <em>


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: _**_Okay, normally I don't update this fast. But I'm sitting at home really bored with nothing to do. So. Next update will be by the 26th (of June), since it's the 24th right now. _

_Inspirational songs for this chapter:_

_The Last Summer: The Forward_

_Going Under- Evanescence_

_NOTE; these songs don't really have anything to do with this chapter. They were just the two songs I listened to while writing this. _

* * *

><p>"Thanks for the ride," Emily says, smiling at the driver. Scott had gotten off earlier in front of a fancy restaurant, but not before the two exchanged numbers.<p>

"Just in case goody-two shoes Kmetko needs bail," He had said lightheartedly, winking. The teen hadn't said much after the mysterious phone call.

Emily had rolled her eyes at Scott but was secretly glad that he had given it to her. She had an acquaintance, if not a friend.

The brunette steps out of the cab and shades her eyes with her hand. By the time she turns around, the taxi is already gone and she takes a deep breath, realizing she is all alone- for now. Emily looks around and, spotting the apartment number she is looking for, knocks on the door.

Behind the puke green door, there is a rattling which Emily assumes is the deadbolt, before it opens.

"Hi, Rita?" Emily asks the tall woman behind the door.

"No, this is Elle, what can I do for you?" Elle's voice is clipped, her red hair pulled into a tight up-do and brown eyes narrowed at Emily.

Emily shrinks back a bit because, quite frankly, this woman scares her. "I'm um, I'm looking for my mom's friend, and her name is Rita. She lives here, or I think she does. Do you have any idea where she is?"

Elle shrugs. "I moved in a little over three months ago. The old renter got kicked out. Jail, or something of the sort."

The teen frowns in worry. "You must have the wrong person. Rita wouldn't do anything like that."

"Well, maybe you didn't know her as well as you thought you did. Look, I've got to go soon, but I think I have a number for the renting office around here somewhere, let me grab it for you." Elle rushes back inside but not before closing the door behind her.

Emily looks around and breathes in the dry, Nevada air. She can smell some sort of citrus smell, but she assumes it's just Elle's perfume.

The redhead comes out and shoves a wrinkled piece of paper into her hand. "I'm going to be late. Go call them if you want information on your friend."

Emily mutters 'Thanks' and examines the number before punching it into her cell phone, waiting as it rings.

"Hello, this is the Lakeview Apartment renting center! My name's Darb, how can I help you?"

"Lakeview Apartments? We're in Las Vegas, honey," Emily says into the phone. "Anyways, I'm looking for a friend who used to live in apartment 316. Rita Berns?"

"Well I'm pretty sure Ms. Berns was kick- I mean, evicted a few months ago," The operator's voice becomes hushed. "I heard she was in jail for murder."

"Murder? Um, the Rita I know wouldn't do that… I'm sorry, I must have the wrong name," Emily says, too fast.

"Oh! Well then! Er, forget everything I said then! Um, anything else you need?" Darb sounds flustered.

The teen shakes her head before remembering she can't see her. "Nah, I think that's it." There's a click and Emily hangs up, but keeps her phone open to do a three way call to her mom, Payson and Lauren.

The calls all go straight to voicemail, so Emily leaves a message.

"Hey. Um, I'm fine, I guess. I landed in Las Vegas about an hour ago. Talk to you later."

She texts Kaylie;

_**To Kaylie: **_

_I don't really know what to say to you right now. _

345

"Hey Scott, thanks for picking me up," Emily says as she climbs into the fancy silver car. "Did you steal the car?"

Scott rolled his eyes. "Very funny. No, it's actually… um, on loan from a friend. She wanted me to take care of it while she was out of town."

Emily just shook her head and twiddled her thumbs as Scott drove.

"You know, there's this thing called talking. It's really great when you're upset!" Scott teased.

She glares at him. "Fine. Let's talk."

Scott waits for a minute while the silence continues. "After you say that, you're supposed to start talking."

"I'm not an idiot, Scottie dear. I was just… just collecting my thoughts." The brunette frowns as she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.

"We're at nick-name status already? Yes!" Scott squeals. "Okay, you're Emmy poo then."

Emily sticks her tongue out at Scott and taps her fingers on the side of the car. "Alright, so. I'm Emily Kmetko, I'm seventeen, and I _am _indeed pregnant." She then mutters something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Scott asks, keeping an eye on the road.

"I _said,_ because of my stupid boyfriend, or ex? I don't know, and anyways he kissed another girl, one of my best friends, when we were broken up! But he must've known I still had feelings for him! Right?"

"Well Emily, guys are stupid. Literally. You sometimes have to spell things out for them. I mean, I'm sure he knew you still liked him-feelings like that don't go away overnight-, but he probably wasn't thinking."

"And so, the girl he kissed comes over to my apartment and tells me that. And her excuse when she found out I was pregnant was that she didn't know! I was all ready and packed to move in with Damon, but instead she came over and ruined that! And that's how I got to Las Vegas. I was looking for my godmother, but turns out she's in jail for freaking murder! So now, I have no one and nowhere to go to."

Scott wraps an arm around the now crying Emily again, still focused on driving.

"And the worst part? The worst part is that I'm giving up my dream for this."

"What do you mean, you're giving up on your dream for this?" Scott asks.

"I am-_ was_, an elite gymnast. I was training to go to the Olympics." She sobs harder.

Scott does a double take at Emily's words. "Alright, we have to make a stop soon."

Emily just nods and continues crying, but softer now.

A few minutes later Scott pulls over at a gas station and goes inside to get something. While he's gone, Emily pulls out her battered cell phone and calls Damon. On the second ring he picks up.

"Emily?" Damon asks, confused.

"Yeah, it's me."

"How are you?"

"Don't you dare 'how are you?' me, Damon. You know perfectly well how I am and that I am pissed at you." Although she was mad at him, hearing his voice soothed some weird ache.

"Wait, what's going on Emily?"

"You. Kissing Kaylie. Why?"

Damon sighs at the other end of the line.

"It was… I was caught up in the moment. We were caught up in the moment."

"That's all perfectly wonderful, but why? Was it to get back at me?" Emily's voice breaks.

"I don't know… maybe it was. I honestly have no idea, Emily. But I do know that I miss you, and I want to be there for you."

"I don't know whether I can trust you or not right now. So give me space. Lots and _lots _of space."

Damon sighed again. "Okay, I will. But I love you, Emily Kmetko. Always have, always will."

And then he hung up.

Scott had walked out a few seconds ago with a plastic bag in his hand and was staring at Emily. She smiles and motions for him to get in the car. He shrugs and obliges.

"Boyfriend?" He asks casually as he slides in, plopping the bag on her lap.

"I think he's not. For now, at least. Can I look in the bag?"

"Sure."

Emily peeks into the white bag and finds several containers of bubbles.

"Bubbles?"

"Bubbles."

* * *

><p><em>Review?<em>

_PS; Thanks to the two people who reviewed the first chapter. Even though it was only two people, y'all made my day.(L _


	3. AUTHOR'S NOTE!

Okay, I know y'all think this is a new chapter, but it's not. And I'm really sorry for that (so don't be pissed at me for the false alarm)! Because I know I was supposed to have another chapter up today, but I was in a bad mood today and I didn't want that to reflect in my writing, and plus I was researching today. So I had to put this down here because it'd be too long as an author's note and because I don't want to forget. So here's my research!

Worlds for 2011 has not taken place yet (it is supposed to be taking place Oct. 8-16th) and they will be in Tokyo, Japan. Since ABC Family never really told us when Worlds is, I have no idea when Emily became pregnant, which means I have no clue when she is due. So if anyone has any idea when she is, let me know please! Until then, I will be going by episode air date. Which is pathetic, but I have no other choice really. So since Requiem for a Dream aired May 2nd and she was six weeks pregnant then… She should be due around January 21st. If we're going by episode air date.

Secondly, I had to do some research on pregnancy, and according to what I found, pregnant woman only get like, two ultrasounds per pregnancy; one at 8 weeks (or so) and one at around 20 weeks, so they can find out the gender. Also, your insurance company will only cover two or three ultrasounds per pregnancy (unless something starts going wrong) and since I'm pretty sure Emily isn't insured, esp. since now she's on her own, how is she going to pay for the other ultrasound? Bleh.

Anywho, my other research was mostly just when the baby starts kicking and what you should expect from your pregnancy: a week by week guide.

So, that's all, and also! Do you have a preference to what gender of baby Emily has, and any name suggestions? Keep in mind however, a gymnasts body is not physically equipped to have children and such, but since Emily has only been formally training in gymnastics for two-three years now (according to reviews and the show), it may not apply to her as much.

I really haven't decided yet whether she'll have a miscarriage or not, so don't be too alarmed.

Anyways, thanks for reading this! New chapter tomorrow fer sure!

Alex


	4. Chapter 3

**_A/N: _**_Yeah, this was a rush chapter for me. Mainly because I was doing a bunch of studying (in the middle of the summer, I know! Le Gasp!) so, and because I had to wake up at six thirty this morning to go workout for two hours in horrible humidity/heat. But I lived! And I'm posting a chapter today, as I promised (well, after I broke my first promise...), at exactly 5:00 PM CST. (: Anywho, read on m'dears!_

* * *

><p>Scott is sprawled out on the couch, snoring lightly. Emily giggles at him as she takes a wet washcloth to start wiping down the coffee table in the living room, which was covered in sticky bubble suds.<p>

After the two had gotten back, Scott had opened some of the bubbles and started to blow them everywhere. Emily had watched in curiosity for a few minutes before joining in. It had definitely made her feel better after a while.

Sometime later, after everything is clean (enough), the brunette sits down on the recliner. She sits like that for a while, absentmindedly rubbing her belly. It was hard to believe she was already two months pregnant. Emily smiles as she pictures the ultrasound, and then frowns as she remembers her mother and Marcus trying to talk her into an abortion. She sighs and dials a number given to her long ago.

345

"Hi, is this Charles Rodanskys office?" Emily asks sweetly.

"Yes ma'am." His secretary, Emily guesses, answers.

"Can you tell his there's an Emily Kmetko waiting for him? He knows who I am."

"Of course, give me a minute while I let him know please."

Emily rolls her eyes at the manners and bites her lip as she waits. A minute or so later, she hears a deep, gruff voice.

"Emily. What are you doing calling me? I'm at work right now." Charles hisses.

"Hey _Charlie. _Remember me?" Emily asks in a sarcastic tone.

"What are you calling me for?" He repeats.

"I guess Mom didn't tell you, huh? Well guess what, daddy dear! I'm pregnant!"

"You're kidding me."Charles says in a flat voice.

"Do I seem like the type to joke around? Oh wait, you wouldn't know would you? Considering you kinda ditched us when I was three years old." Emily's bottled up at anger is boiling over, and she's directing it at Charlie.

"Look, Emily, I'm sorry. And I wouldn't have contacted you or your mother at all, or given you my phone number if I didn't want to talk to you ever again. I was an aspiring musician, Em, and I had to do what I had to do."

Emily grimaces as these words remind her of Damon. "Ditching us didn't seem to work too well, considering you're a big-wig lawyer instead of a rock star."

"Uh, about that. Denise wanted me to invite you to our house in Reno this summer. I told her you wouldn't go for it, but you seem to be all for surprises lately."

She smiles slightly at her father's words, coming to the realization that summer was only a few weeks away. It normally wouldn't have meant anything, considering elite gymnasts trained year round. "Charlie dear, Reno has no beaches anywhere near it. And summer is about fun lovin'. Fun equals beaches. Not lakes."

"Um, well we have a summer house in Santa Monica. It's kind of small, but I'm sure we can make do."

"Perfect!" Emily exclaimed. "I'll come and visit. Only on one condition, however."

"And what is that?" Charlie said warily.

"Can my friend come? His name is Scott and-"

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Look, I've got to get back into this meeting. Can you come up on May 10th? I'll e-mail you directions or something."

"Sure."

"Alright, bye Em."

"Bye-bye."

After Charles had hung up, Emily squealed and went over to jump on Scott.

"We're going to Cali! We're going to Cali!" She sang, tickling him. "Wake up Scotty! We're going to Cali!"

"You're kidding me, right? Did you even think to consult me about this first?" Scott grumbles, trying without success to push Emily away.

"Nope!" The brunette grins and backs off, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. "This is _exactly_ what I need." She sighs happily.

Scott eyes her up and down. "I can agree with that. You're paler than a ghost, Emmy poo. You definitely need the love of the sun."

"Shut up." Emily sticks her tongue out at him.

"So… when are we leaving? Because I have some stuff I need to take care of..."

"Mysterious, aren't we? Well, we're leaving on the tenth."

"Ungh. Emily, that's a week away!"

"And your point is?"

"That was my point!"

"Scotty dear, please do this. Please, for me?" Emily pleads to Scott.

He tosses his hands up in the air in a 'whatever' kind of way. "Fine, I'll go. I'll go as long as you promise to stop wearing that smelly perfume."

Emily squeals again and throws her arms around Scott.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She says in one breath. "Damon won't know to look for me in California, that's for sure. I jus- I just need to relax."

"That's understandable, darling." Scott winks at Emily. "So, what's for dinner?"

"Well, I don't really cook. At all. So do you know a place where we can go to eat?"

He pretends to ponder the question. "Yeah, I do. It's this really great Italian place, and it'll be my treat. Okey dokey?"

Emily shakes her head. "I can't let you do that."

"Oh, but you can, and you will, my dear." He turns and grabs his jacket. "Letsa go!"

But she stayed where she was. "Hey Scott, there's something you should know…"

"What more do I need to know?" He teases.

"Besides the fact that that I can't stand skirts and that I'm allergic to tomatoes? Maybe it's the fact that you're being a totally awesome friend that I barely know? Nope. It's that I was really in love with my ex, and still am, so you better not make any advances as anything more than a friend."

Scott chuckles and slings his arm around Emily's shoulder. "Relax, Kmetko. Just friends, I promise."

"Yeah, well, that's what they all say…" She mutters as they walk out the door.

* * *

><p><em>Review?<em>


	5. Chapter 4

**_A/N: _**_I'm sorry this is really short (barely over 1,000 words), but I'm camping right now, so this is yet another rush job. As my summer cools down a bit, I'll be back on track with longer, and hopefully better, chapters. Enjoy! _

* * *

><p>The pair had stopped at a gas station, which was near a park. Scott went to fill up on gas and Emily had headed over to the park.<p>

The brunette was now lying on the sand, face down. She was repeatedly sifting her fingers through the sand, mind elsewhere. As she was sifting the sand, she suddenly came across something cold and hard. Emily is stunned to realize that it is a rusty engagement ring after a round of examination. The girl stands up abruptly and rushes back to the gas station, pocketing the ring.

Scott looked up from the gas pump and smiled at Emily who had just entered the parking lot. It was only a four and a half hour drive to Santa Monica from Vegas, but Scott's tank had been nearly empty. Unfortunately, it was hot outside and they still had three hours left. With the top down, the temperature could rise up to almost one hundred degrees, so Scott made sure the convertible's top was up and the air conditioner on.

"Hey," He says softly, waving in an almost shy way.

"Hi," Emily responds, before holding up the worn ring. "Look what I found."

Scott leans in closer to give it an once-over. "That looks kind of like a vintage ring. So what are you going to do with it?"

"Honestly?" She asks. "I have no idea."

345

(*NOTE: This chapter will be told in first person, with I's and stuff. It is also told in Damon's point of view.*)

I strummed my guitar, searching for the notes to describe what I was feeling right now. Some people use words, I use music to express my feelings.

And this feeling really sucked.

I was in Los Angeles, writing new songs. The producers hated the angst-y stuff I was putting out, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't seem to write anything like I used to, and we all knew the reason- Emily Kmetko. The girl who I gave my heart away to, who I told things I'd never told anyone else before, who I'd gotten _pregnant_, was gone. I'd had one phone conversation with her since she'd left Boulder. And after that, I'd left Boulder, too.

Truth is, I missed her like crazy. So I wasn't writing much. Instead, I'd head down to the beach at Santa Monica (only a twenty minute drive from where I was staying) and relax on the hot sand. I wouldn't even put a bathing suit on, just go down there fully clothed with a book in hand and waste away countless hours of the day.

Before I'd left Colorado, I'd talked to Kaylie and she had told me what she had said to Emily, about me kissing her. I was glad she'd told Emily, because I wasn't sure I would've been able to tell her. Not that I don't love her, but it would've been hard to look her in the eye and tell her I'd kissed another girl. I'd also spoken to Lauren and Payson, and they both told me to go after Emily and take care of her. Who would've known the Bitch of the Beam and the super-hero like focused one would actually care about what happened to their "friend"?

I just wanted to see her, face to face. To tell her I was sorry, and that if she ever needed me I'd always be here. I wanted to see her, just once.

The problem was, knowing Emily, she probably wouldn't tell me if she needed me. She'd put on a brave face and pretend everything was fine, if only for the sake of others.

I'd only partially broken through that shell the short time we were together, just as Emily had only touched onto the surface of my emotional baggage. I wanted to get to know her more. I wanted to possibly have a future together with her. But to do that, I would need to see her.

I dared to venture down to the beach again, some science fiction novel clutched in my hand. But instead of reading my book, I people-watched. I smiled wistfully at the couples who were in turn smiling at each other. I frowned at the smokers, and rolled my eyes at the girls dressed in too skimpy bikinis.

Continuing my search (although I was unsure of what I was looking for), I found myself staring at a dark haired girl with shoulder length hair. A guy with green and orange stripes in his dark hair was tickling her, making her laugh. _Emily? _I thought. No way. How could she be in California? And who was the guy she was with?

345

Emily and Scott were already on one of the sandy beaches of Santa Monica. It was around noon, and as soon as the two had dropped their stuff off at the house (Charlie and Denise weren't arriving until seven) they had changed into their bathing suits and headed down to the ocean. Scott had tried to push Emily into the water, with no success. In turn, she poured her ice cold water bottle over his head.

"Ha," Emily giggled. "Take that."

Scott sat and sulked for a minute, lips turning blue because of the freezing water.

"Scott?" She asked. "You okay? I'm sorry!"

He stayed quiet for a while longer before looking into her eyes. "You will pay." Scott says in a deep voice.

Emily's eyes widen. "Uh… What are you going to do, exactly?"

Scott grinned and leaned over, placing his hand on her stomach. She frowns down at him.

"Scott, this is weird." Emily says before erupting in a fit of giggles. He had started tickling her.

"C-c-can't breathe!" She gasps, trying in vain to get air.

Scott smiled and stopped, leaving Emily gasping for breath.

She rolled her eyes and rolled over to lie on her stomach, propping her face up with her hands. The brunette looks around at the many people on the beach. Emily spots a dark headed boy heading over to where the two were.

"Damon?" She asks, shocked.

"Hey Em," Damon says, smiling gently at her. "How are you?"

* * *

><p><em>A question; do y'all have any suggestions for a different title? This one is too long, but I'm satisfied with it until I can find something better.<em>

_Review, please!_

_PS; Thanks to TheOnceAnonymous14 for making this story a favorite!_


	6. Chapter 5

**_A/N:_**_ Thank you to Nico Lover 1998, The Once Anonymous 14, Aasta The Evil Bunny Foo Foo, and Twilighter Tabitha for reviewing as well as adding this story to Story Alerts, Favorite Story, and me to Favorite Authors. Especially Miss Tabitha, because I was not very inspired these past few days. Your review today made me push through to finish this chapter! And yes, I am continuing. _

_The reason this chapter took so long was because I was trying to make my chapters longer, and I completely failed. I guess my chapters will have to stay short for now :/ Also because I was working on a (long) one-shot for Make it Or Break It that I did not finish. Boo-hoo. I hope to have it up soon, though!_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Emily looked confused, and Scott was glaring at Damon. She cleared her throat.<p>

"I-I'm fine. What are you doing here?" The girl hesitantly asked, hoping she didn't sound rude.

Damon grinned. "I'm in L.A. recording, but I've been coming to Santa Monica a lot to relax… What about you?"

"We're visiting some family of mine." She answered honestly.

He raised an eyebrow at the "we're".

"Oh! Um, this is Scott," Emily babbled as Scott gave Damon a slight nod, still glaring at him. "Scott, this is Damon. I told you about him, right?"

"All good I hope," Damon joked. "Listen Em, I know this may not be the time or the place, but we really need to talk, when you're ready."

He turned and started to walk away when Emily reached out and grabbed his arm. "Wait! Don't go! You can stay with us for a while and then we can all go grab some lunch." She pleaded, sounding desperate.

"Emily, he can just meet us later. There's no need to invite him to stay with us." Scott mutters to Emily, a bit too loudly.

"Are you kidding me? Look _Scott_, I've made mistakes and maybe getting Emily pregnant was one of them, but I'm here to take care of her now. You don't have to be here." Damon almost yells this.

"For your information, I was there for her when you were not. So give me some credit." Scott retorts, sounding angry.

A small crowd had started to gather around the group, watching the two boys fight.

"Guys, the world doesn't need to know I'm with child…" Emily mumbles as a few reporters start to gather as well.

"Emily Kmetko? Is that you?" One yells.

"Why'd you quit gymnastics, Miss Kmetko?"

"Is it true what these two are saying, Emily?"

"Are you pregnant, Emily?"

The questions start to make Emily have a headache.

"Guys…" She murmurs, putting a hand up to her temple.

Scott and Damon take the hint, and give each other one last dirty look before they support Emily and start to fight their way through the crowd.

"Many critics never thought you never did have the dedication, Miss Kmetko. If you are indeed pregnant, you have proved them right. Do you have anything to say to this?" Another nosy reporter asks, yelling over the other flurry of questions being asked.

All three of them turned to glare at this reporter.

"Fuck off," Scott said.

"I think I've proved myself to you people enough times," Emily frowned.

"She had dedication. Maybe you just never noticed it." Damon said quietly, but loud enough for them to hear.

Emily was crying again, and the two boys sighed simultaneously before helping her off the beach.

345

Damon and Scott had laid Emily down on the bed in one of the extra rooms in the house. Afterwards, the two had both sat down on a couch in the living, sitting in silence for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier," Damon said first, sighing. "You've been here for her when I wasn't, and I guess I should thank you for that. It's just, when I saw you with Emily, I guess I got jealous. You two just looked very comfortable around each other, and it was weird. To be honest, I kind of wanted to punch you."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks. You're welcome."

The other boy rolled his eyes as well and stuck out his hand. "Is this a truce, then?"

"We're not there yet, buddy boy." Scott shook his head. "So, Emily says you were in a band."

"Yeah, I was. I kind of ruined them, though, when we broke up."

"Seems like you do that a lot," Scott said sarcastically.

Damon didn't respond for a minute. "I guess so…" He muttered.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that… Actually, I did. You changed her life. In many, many ways."

Damon stood up abruptly. "I'm gonna go check out the house."

Scott waved. "Later."

The teenager stretched his legs out and flipped the T.V. on. Unsurprisingly, it was on a sports network.

"With Worlds coming up in a few weeks, Coach Sasha Belov is desperately looking for a new elite to take Emily Kmetko's spot on the team after she quit a few days ago for a reason unknown to the press." The blonde announcer said.

"Actually, a few hours ago an anonymous source sent in pictures of Miss Kmetko on the beach in Santa Monica, California with an unidentified boy and what appears to be Damon Young."

Emily wandered into the room, hair wet. "Hey Scott, I heard my name, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Scott replied, staring at the television as a picture of the remaining Rock girls stood with their arms around each other, tears trickling down a blonde and a Latina girls faces, while the other blonde stayed strong and impassive.

"Ah…" The brunette said, sounding as if she were almost in pain. "I'm on the news. Wonderful."

Scott looked over. "That's not the real reason you're upset, is it?"

"No," Emily laughed and shook her head. "I just miss them, I guess. I miss the gymnastics. It may have been tearing me apart, but it kept me together."

"You are so weird," Scott chuckled and opened his arms. "C'mere, you goof."

Emily smiled and climbed into them. "Thank you, Scotty dear."

Just then, Damon walked into the room.

"Hey Scott, you would not believe how awesome this- oh. Hi, Em. You okay?" He finished his sentence awkwardly.

Emily shrugged, not moving from Scott's embrace. "I'm fine. Took a shower and mellowed out a bit."

Scott smirked at Damon.

"What's up, man?"

Damon sat down, not looking either of him in the eye, although he looked jealous.

Emily watched all of this go down, before standing up.

"I've made a decision, guys."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

She took a deep breath and exhaled it.

"I want my gymnastics back. I'm getting an abortion."

* * *

><p><em>Ooh, another cliffhanger! Sorry guys! Anyways, while I liked Anonymous 14's suggestions, I'd like to have some others, so review and leave it! Also, if you have any tips on how to make the story longer, let me know. <em>

_Review please!_


	7. Chapter 6

_**A/N: **Thank you to honeygirl1998 for reviewing and all that other cool stuff. (:_

_As you may have noticed, I changed the title! Tada! What are your thoughts?_

_Plus, I was inspired. I wrote the first sentence of the next chapter (or the chapter after that) down and wrote this chapter to fill in the blank. _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Emily glared at the two boys.<p>

"Well? Say something!" She said angrily.

"Just because you miss gymnastics, does _not _mean that you have to give up this other life," Scott said first. "Emily, listen to logic. There are so many mothers that have gotten an abortion, and say they wonder what it would've been like every moment of every day. Then there are the mothers who changed their life for their babies, and say it's the best thing they've ever done. Just… think it through a bit more, Em."

Damon sat in stony silence.

"That includes you too, Dae." Emily prods.

"I- I think…" Damon gulps. "That you should do what you want. I mean, I would love to see our relationship develop into something more. I'd love to have a family with you. I just don't know if you're ready to be a mother at this time, Em. You have a dream. But I love you, and I'll support your decision."

The girl sighs. "I want to go back. I'm not ready to give up just yet."

"You realize what you're giving up?"Scott asks incredulously.

"Please Scott, just support what I want. I've known you for about a week now, and I already feel like you our friendship could evolve into some sort of weird best friendship thing. And I'd love to see that happen. But it won't if you don't let me do what I want to do."

"I'm not saying you shouldn't do this, Emily. But will they accept you back with open arms?" The teen shrugged.

"I kind of have to agree with him there, Em- you made a mistake and you're not really on good terms with the NGO."

"Well thanks guys for your moral support." Emily said sarcastically, plopping down on the couch and letting out an exasperated sigh. "I don't feel like I have much of a choice, honestly."

The living room stayed silent for a few minutes and Emily stood up, walking over to Damon.

"Damon, I know I'm being a typical teenager about this, but I'm still hurt over you kissing Kaylie." She took the ring she'd found at the playground out of her pocket. "So listen. Keep this. And you know what? In 2012, if we feel the same, then do whatever the heck you want with it. At the moment, I'm going through with my plan. I'll let you know if anything changes, but other than that I don't think I can contact you. I love you too, and I'll be waiting under the Eiffel Tower for you after the Olympics."

Damon clutched the ring tightly in his hand and nodded. He wasn't crying and instead looked impassive.

Scott stood up as well. "Do you need a ride?"

Emily shook her head. "Nope, I don't. I just need to use a computer really quick. And then for you two to vacant my daddy's house, _por favor_."

"Sure. And Em?"

"Yeah?" She turned to face him.

"Call me." He winked and grinned. "We'll meet up sometime, okay?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Sure thing, Scottie dear."

Scott and Damon left the house and Emily didn't know whether they drove home or not. Instead, she logged onto a computer and e-mailed her dad quickly.

_I'm leaving. I'm sorry I wasn't able to meet Denise or you, but I've had a change of heart. _

_Also, not to sound like I'm just in it for your money, I need the soonest flight out of Boulder. I'd like to leave by tonight._

_Don't hate me for this, please! I'll see you guys some other time, I'm sure of it._

_Xoxo_

_Emily_

She waited a couple of minutes, knowing Charlie had his Blackberry on him at all times and would probably receive the e-mail within seconds. Sure enough, her inbox pinged with a new message.

Attached in the e-mail were three things. There was an airplane ticket back to Boulder, as Emily requested as well as one ticket back to Vegas. She sighed and shook her head at the third thing before forwarding the e-ticket to Scott so he could get back home without driving, if he wanted to. Remembering that he'd driven down, that was probably a no.

Emily Kmetko grabbed her suitcase and left Santa Monica behind. It was just a footnote in her memories.

345

She stepped off the plane and headed to baggage claim to find her cheap, dollar-store bag. Emily hadn't told anyone besides Damon and Scott that she was returning to Colorado, planning to keep it a surprise for all.

It took a solid hour before Emily could finally escape the crazy Denver airport, flagging down (yet another) taxi. However, this one had no strange boys in it and she enjoyed the ride in peace.

Emily stepped out of the car and breathed in the crisp air. She headed forward to the red door that hid their apartment and knocked.

Chloe Kmetko opened the door and stared wordlessly at her daughter. She pulled Emily in for a fierce hug.

"Don't you _ever_ run away again, Emily Kmetko! I missed you a heck of a lot!" Chloe scolded.

"Okay Mom," Emily smiled at Chloe. "I'm just happy to be home."

Her mom grinned back at her and plopped down on the couch, pulling her daughter with her.

"So what made you come back? How's Rita?" Chloe gushed.

"Rita is in jail for murder, as far as I know. And I came back because… because I decided I'm not ready to have this baby."

"Huh, well that's Rita for you! Always surprising people!" She laughed nervously, trying to ease the tension. "What do you mean not have the baby, Emily? Are you going to give it up for adoption?"

"No," Emily said icily. "I'm going to schedule an appointment at the clinic for tomorrow."

Chloe gaped at Emily.

"Are you serious? You ran away to Vegas so you could become a mother, and now you don't want to?"

"I miss my gymnastics," Emily said simply. "Worlds are three weeks away, and I'm going have to get back on track right now so that I can medal."

"You can talk to me about anything, you know that right?" The mother questioned.

"I know."

"Then what happened in Las Vegas?" Chloe demanded.

Emily took a deep breath and then let it out. "It all kind of clicked in place in Santa Monica. When Scott and I ran into Damon, and he talked about songwriting, I realized that I'm not ready to give up on my dream yet. I couldn't even start to think about another hobby, another goal, when I could just walk back into the gym the next day and start training again."

"I'm not saying anything against you, Em. But are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I am." Emily stood up. "Is the scholarship with Mr. Tanner still in place?"

"I know you don't want it to be, but Steve refused to take it away. He said he didn't know if there would be any other private groups willing to take you on, and he wanted to help us out a bit financially. Steve Tanner may hate me, but something about him intrigues you, Emily. It's weird."

"Wonderful. I'm going to go talk to Sasha."

Chloe reached out as if to stop Emily, but she didn't.

"Since you're walking, watch out. There have been some bad things going on in the neighborhood. Good luck."

"You make it sound like I'm going into a war," Emily laughed. "Relax, Mom. I can take care of myself."

* * *

><p><em>Review, por favor! <em>

_(I'm in a classical/oldies mood. Gimme some jams? Haha.(x )_


	8. Chapter 7

**_A/N: _**_Thank you to the amazing people who reviewed and added this story to story alert, etc. etc. I'm sorry this took a long time, I was uninspired yet again but then I got inspired when I realize I'm gonna be gone all next week (sleep-away camp) so I won't be able to update. Also, I just saw the second part of HP & The Deathly Hallows and maybe I'm biased because I'm a Harry Potter nerd, but it was flippin' amazing! Like, off the chain daaawgg!_

_Cassie: I'm happy you like.(x_

_TheOnceAnonymous14: Thankkkk youuu!_

_Honeygirl1998: I'm glad!_

_beyoncefan: Yes ma'am, an abortion.(: And if you don't like it don't read it, dear. I normally am against abortions. But Emily had a dream, and was well on her way to achieving it, unlike most teenagers (and I'm not saying we don't have dreams but she wanted to go to the OLYMPICS, for gosh sakes). And I HATED that the writers made her pregnant in the first place._

_Sorry this author's note is so longgg.(: Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>And while Emily could take care of herself, Chloe was right. There was a tense atmosphere around the neighborhood, but luckily she was soon on a main street and out of harm's way.<p>

She walked fast, passing down a route familiar to her. In no time, she was in the parking lot of The Rocky Mountain Gymnastic Training Center. Emily strutted up to the front doors and pushed them open.

The thing was, it was all a show. She wasn't half as confident as she may have appeared, because she was afraid Sasha wouldn't take her back and her friends wouldn't accept her anymore.

Emily's doubts were questioned, however, when the other three Rock Rebels rushed up and enveloped her in hugs.

"Emily! What are you doing here?" Lauren asked. Payson was grinning at Emily, happy to see that she'd made the right choice and Kaylie was just standing there awkwardly.

"I'm back. If Sasha will accept me, that is." Emily answered quietly.

"Oh, he'll take you. He's been looking frantic for another girl for the past two weeks." Payson said before waving goodbye and heading over to the vault. Kaylie smiled weakly at Emily and walked over to the uneven bars, none of the confidence in her strut as normal.

Lauren was surprisingly the only girl that stuck close, looping an arm around Emily's waist.

"Hate to say it Kmetko, but I missed you." Lauren smirked at her, leaning her head against Emily's arm.

"Kind of touchy-feely today, aren't you?" Emily questioned, rolling her eyes.

"Miss Kmetko!" Sasha bellowed, striding over.

The brunette groaned. She was tired of people calling her "Miss" and what-not. "My name is Emily. Not Miss Kmetko, Emily. Remember?"

"Well no actually, I'm having quite a hard time remembering you since you walked out two weeks ago and didn't show up the next day to continue with your dream."

Emily cringed. The rudeness she hadn't received from Lauren was instead delivered to her by Sasha.

"You have one chance to wow me and the NGO, who are fortunately here today. The routine must be flawless, and I mean absolutely perfect. Then, if the majority vote is yes, you will stay on that apparatus all day performing the same routine to prove your consistency. Tomorrow we will repeat with a different apparatus, and continue until all of them are done. After that you will spend an even amount of time on each section. Understood?"

She gulped and nodded.

"Okay then. Let's start with your beam," Sasha smirked at her and walked over to the NGO (minus Ellen Beals) to explain.

"Crap," Emily muttered. Beam was her worst- she'd much rather have been placed on the bars, or even the vault. But Sasha was definitely going to make her prove herself.

So Emily reluctantly walked over to the balance beam. The "judges" were watching as she carefully mounted the beam, not doing anything fancy. Her routine consisted firstly of an unconfident ring leap, landing her near the edge of the beam. She then performed a front aerial walkover, followed by a back handspring into a layout stepout, wobbling on the landing. Then, it was a switch leap, sheep jump and a side somersault onto the opposite side again, still not very steady or confident. She knew her extensions had been horrible but she pointed her toe and compledthe routine with a round-off into a double twist landing, saluting quickly before collapsing. Emily felt sick to her stomach. Sasha waved off the NGO, telling them to calculate her score while he took care of her.

"Emily? Are you okay?" He asked with the old concern back in his voice.

She nodded, afraid to speak lest she puke.

His eyes narrowed. "You haven't gone to the clinic yet have you?"

Emily once again chose not to speak, shaking her head instead.

Sasha sighed, frustrated, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Emily? We have your score ready." A representative spoke up

She turned to look at them.

"You scored a 16.100 on the beam, Miss Kmetko. If your coach allows you to, your place on the Worlds team will be re-established and you can resume your training."

"Um," Emily said tensely. "That sounds great. Thank you."

Sasha waved them away, too upset to speak.

"Do you realize how stupid you'd seem right now if the NGO knew you hadn't gotten the abortion yet?"

"Yes, I do. I just-," She squeezed her eyes shut and sighed. "I needed to prove myself before I lost my chance, or my will."

Her coach knelt and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Listen to me," He said quietly. "What you did just now was stupid, but also brave. But you do realize there's no going back now? If the baby hadn't been miscarried already, something probably happened to it when you did that routine."

Emily flinched at the harsh words, but nodded. "I know."

"Well then," Sasha clapped her on the shoulder. "Get to work. Don't think I didn't see you wobble-twice. And show some happiness, for God sakes."

She laughed breathlessly and stayed where she was, starting to stretch. "Thanks, Sasha." The gymnast called after him as he walked away.

"Don't do it again, Emily. You're running out of second chances."

Emily took his advice to heart and started to work on perfecting her beam.

345

"I'm so happy Emily's back. Now we won't have to put up with Kelly Parker at Worlds." Lauren complained, stretching her leg out alongside Payson and Kaylie on a pommel horse.

"Geez Lauren, you're not much better than her. You do realize people not only call you the Queen of the Beam, but the Bitch of the Beam too?" Kaylie snapped. She was in a foul mood at the moment.

"Yes ma'am I do!" Lauren said happily.

Payson rolled her eyes. "I'm just glad she made the right decision."

"Aw Pay, come on. Even you have to admit you're thrilled about not having to train with Parker." The smaller blonde teased.

"Yes, but I have to put up with something much worse every day," The gymnast joked, eyeing Lauren up and down.

"Not trying to ruin the party, but do you realize how hard of a decision that must've been for her? She could have had a different life. No more stress or pressure." Kaylie chimed in finally.

"Kaylie, if you want to be Emily so much, then just go do what she did," Payson responded.

"I didn't say-"The Latina started.

"You didn't have to," Lauren stated. She rolled her eyes and swung her leg off the horse, strutting over to the vault to practice a routine.

Payson smiled encouragingly at Kaylie and headed over to the bars.

"Humph," Kaylie muttered and looked around the gym for another minute, stalling. She sighed when she spotted Emily practicing her beam, a determined look on her face and her bump obvious through her leotard and walked over to the floor to come up with a new routine expressing her anger.

* * *

><p><em>Review make me continue... so if you love it, like it, or even hate it, review.(; (Haters make me try to prove them wrong. Or make the story appeal to more peoples.)<em>

_Yo! I'm still working on that one shot that I mentioned a few chapters back, by the way. In case you're interested._

_Alsoooo before you go: I'm not claiming to have done gymnastics. I found Emily's moves in her routine off the internet, and looked them up on YouTube to see how they would flow. I know it doesn't fit the requirements for an Olympic level beam routine, but I had no idea what I was doing really. So all you real gymnasts out there- don't criticize!_


End file.
